Table Of Contentb u t c h e r i n g
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poultry rabbit
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lamb goat pork
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The Comprehensive Photographic Guide to Humane Slaughtering and Butchering
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b u tc h e r i n g
poultry rabbit
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lamb goat pork
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The Comprehensive Photographic Guide to Humane Slaughtering and Butchering
Adam Danforth
photography by keller + keller
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The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by
publishing practical information that encourages
personal independence in harmony with the environment. dedication
For Moxie. I hope you feel comfortably known.
EDitED by Carleen Madigan All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
Art DirEction AnD book DEsign by Carolyn Eckert without written permission from the publisher, except by
tExt proDuction by Theresa Wiscovitch a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce
illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any
bAck covEr AnD intErior photogrAphs by
part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
© Keller + Keller Photography,
or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic,
except pages 335 by © Adam Danforth,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other — without written
127 by Carolyn Eckert, and 74–76 by Mars Vilaubi.
permission from the publisher.
illustrAtions by © Karin Spijker, Draw & Digit
The information in this book is true and complete to the
inDExED by Christine R. Lindemer, Boston Road best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without
Communications guarantee on the part of the author or Storey Publishing. The
author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the
in ADDition to thosE mEntionED in thE Author’s use of this information.
AcknowlEDgmEnts, the publisher would like to thank Storey books are available for special premium and
the following people for their help: Wendy Warner at promotional uses and for customized editions. For further
Windward Farm and the Martin family at Elmartin Farm in information, please call 1-800-793-9396.
Cheshire, Massachusetts; Christopher Bonasia, Michael
Gallagher, and Ashley Amsden at Square Roots Farm in storey publishing
Lanesborough, Massachusetts; Jake Levin from the Berkshire 210 MASS MoCA Way
Food Guild; everyone at The Meat Market in Great Barrington, North Adams, MA 01247
Massachusetts; John Fazio Farms in Modena, New York; www.storey.com
Brett McLeod; Shiloh Partin; Billy Barlow; Greg Stratton
Printed in China by R.R. Donnelley
and Michael Montgomery from Stratton’s Custom Meats &
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Smokehouse in Hoosick Falls, New York.
© 2014 by Adam A. Danforth
be sure to read all instructions thoroughly before attempting any of the activities in this book. no book can replace the
guidance of an expert nor can it anticipate every situation that will arise. Always be vigilant when working with animals and use
extreme caution when employing potentially lethal implements.
library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
Danforth, Adam.
Butchering poultry, rabbit, lamb, goat, and pork: the comprehensive photographic guide to
humane slaughtering and butchering / by Adam Danforth.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index. Storey Publishing is
ISBN 978-1-61212-182-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) committed to making
ISBN 978-1-61212-188-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) environmentally
ISBN 978-1-60342-931-3 (ebook) responsible manufacturing
1. Slaughtering and slaughter-houses. 2. Game and game-birds, Dressing of. decisions. This book
3. Meat cutting. 4. Meat—Preservation. 5. Meat animals. 6. Animal welfare. I. Title. was printed on paper
TS1960.D25 2014 made from sustainably
664'.9029—dc23 harvested fiber.
2013030702
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dedication
For Moxie. I hope you feel comfortably known.
v
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contentS
chapter
1
From Muscle to Meat 5
chapter
2
Food Safety 23
Foreword by Joel Salatin viii
Introduction 1
chapter chapter
3 6
tools & equipment 38 chicken Slaughtering 101
chapter
4
chapter
7
Butchering Methods 53
chicken Butchering 139
chapter
5
Pre-slaughter
conditions
& General Slaughter
techniques 79
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chapter
10
Sheep & Goat Slaughtering 199
chapter
11
Sheep & Goat Butchering 231
chapter
8
Rabbit Slaughtering 159
chapter
9
Rabbit Butchering 181
chapter chapter
12 14
Pig Slaughtering 323 Packaging & Freezing 419
chapter
13
Pork Butchering 347
Bibliography 436
Glossary 438
Resources 440
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FoRewoRd
by joel salatin
oSt AMeRIcAnS todAy FeAR Food because they don’t know much about it. But
M
as we learn more and more about the shortcomings of industrial food,
concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOS), and the shenanigans of
the food processing industry, we yearn for an antidote but don’t know where to turn.
Our grandmothers and grandfathers weren’t afraid of food. They knew how to turn
cucumbers into pickles (how many Americans don’t even know pickles come from
cucumbers?) and which vegetables could be root-cellared. Not too long ago, the shared
agrarian understanding in the culture included knowing the difference between hay and
straw, shoats and gilts, cows and heifers.
Today, farmers’ market shoppers looking through farmers’ scrap books routinely explain
to their children that the cow with the horns is a bull. Of course, farmers know horns have
nothing to do with sex and joke among themselves about how ignorant their customers
are. When our farm began raising and butchering pastured poultry, every homemaker
knew how to cut up a chicken. Today, most don’t realize a chicken even has bones. I have
to explain to them that chicken nuggets in the shape of Dino the Dinosaur is not a muscle
group on a chicken.
Into this profound ignorance, timidity, and fear steps a delightful remedy from Storey
Publishing and domestic artisan Adam Danforth. The book you hold in your hands is
a recipe for self-reliance and faith rather than dependency and fear: faith in the ability
of individuals — thousands of them — in their own backyards and homesteads to access
nature’s bounty with home-scale meat preparation.
Unlike formal butchery textbooks, this one assumes beginner understanding, rudimentary
equipment, and do-it-yourself (DIY) labor. The dramatic visceral photographs captivate
the imagination. They draw you into the topic rather than repel. Indeed, this is exactly
the kind of information that empowers people to try new things, that dispels the fears
and anxiety, and that propels all of us to reconnect with our ecological umbilical.
I especially appreciate Storey and Danforth encouraging backyard butchery because it
is exactly the kind of democratized, decentralized food system our country desperately
viii foreword by joel salatin
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needs. The opaqueness and centralization of America’s food system, from mono-speciated
factory farms to mega-supermarkets, has birthed a brand new lexicon of pathogenicity,
toxicity, and ills. While self-empowerment makes food regulators shudder (“What, turn
a bunch of novices loose with butchering animals in their backyards? Goodness, they’ll
kill themselves!”) those of us who have done this for generations and encouraged others
to do it realize the benefits for food safety, nutrition, and taste.
This book is yet another indication that the burgeoning local food tsunami continues to
gain strength. It started with a resurgence of culinary interest and the Food Channel,
then moved into urban farming and local produce, and now can include meat, which
accounts for 40 percent of the grocery dollar. If we’re ever going to move our food system
to a place of regeneration, accountability, integrity, and transparency, we have to tackle
the issue of how meat is produced. This book, titled simply Butchering Poultry, Rabbit,
Lamb, Goat, and Pork, is a launch pad for this next step in healing our collective foodscape.
If we wait for the government or land grant colleges or big food corporations to change,
we’ll be waiting a long time. Our culture’s assault on humane livestock rearing, sanitary
slaughtering, and processing with integrity can be corrected quickest when thousands
of people, empowered by simple instruction, take control of their own meat and return
to the social, small-scale artisanship of our forebears.
Using the best understanding of microbes, the latest knowledge regarding muscle
development, the most modern infrastructure from cooling to knives, Danforth opens
a world of can-do that invites the most timid onlooker to participate in this dramatic
farm-to-plate choreography. It’s a world of profound sacredness — the sacrifice of life to
sustain life. Perhaps few things can express ideas more clearly than personally taking
up a knife and carving a carcass. While that may sound repulsive to some, for many of
us, it speaks to a deep yearning, a primal call, to rediscover the foundations of human
existence and the integrity of ecological cycles.
Because it is arguably the most nutrient dense of all foods, meat formed the basis of
all ancient diets. In modern times, we have refrigeration, hot water, stainless steel, and
efficient packaging materials that make this ancient art of butchering more efficient
and safe. Preserving this tradition and explaining it to what is now a nation of novices,
Danforth’s gift pushes us forward culturally and personally. Now that we have thousands
of homesteaders growing critters, it’s time to encourage this legion of food participants
to process them. Thank you, Adam, for showing us the way.
ix
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